


It'll be okay

by Kayim



Category: DCU
Genre: Cuddling, Gen, cuddling for comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-16
Updated: 2017-01-16
Packaged: 2018-09-18 00:05:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9352484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kayim/pseuds/Kayim
Summary: When family is hurting, you help them.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Merfilly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merfilly/gifts).



> Written for the awesome Cuddles for Comfort collection. 
> 
> Warning for implied death of a minor original child character (car accident).

The soft knocking on the door could have been missed by anyone who hadn’t been trained to listen for the sound of batwings flapping 50 meters away. Dick unlocked his legs from the bar across the doorway and twisted his body around as he fell, landing on his feet and imagining the round of applause he would have got had he still been in the circus.

He glanced at the video monitor that showed him the hallway. As soon as he saw the figure leaning heavily against his door, he swore and all but ran to open it.

Tim clearly hadn’t been expecting it, and he fell against Dick without the door to prop him up. Dick checked the hallway, making sure there was no one watching, before gently tugging him into the apartment. 

“What the hell happened, kid?” he asked, even as he slid his fingers to Tim’s wrist to check his pulse. There was no sign of blood or other physical trauma, and there was no damage or tears in the casual clothing that he was wearing – at least as far as Dick could tell. The fact that he was in jeans and a sweatshirt meant that whatever was wrong, it hadn’t happened while on patrol. Dick wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.

“There was a little boy,” Tim said, his voice hitching with every word. “He ran away from his mom. I tried to catch him before he ran into the road but....”

_We can’t save everyone._ One of the first things that Bruce had taught them all. Even when they were out there, in costume, with batarangs and grappling hooks and all the money the Wayne fortune could give them, they still couldn’t save everyone. 

And it hurt every damn time.

“I couldn’t get there in time. And I’ve just been walking around trying to figure out what I could have done better, or quicker, and I couldn’t think of anything, but there must have been something because he was so small and I should have been able to do something.”

Tim’s voice was barely above a whisper, but the words were spilling out as though now he’d finally started speaking he couldn’t stop.

Dick pulled Tim closer, leading them towards the couch. He sat down first and guided Tim down towards him. The intention had been to sit next to him, but Tim’s apparent disorientation meant the younger boy landed on Dick’s lap. Instinctively, Tim tried to get up, but Dick wrapped his arms around him and kept him close. Tim quit trying to move away almost instantly and let his head drop to Dick’s shoulder.

It had been a long time since Tim was young enough to give piggyback rides to, or to carry him for any other reason, but Tim suddenly seemed as small as he had done that first time they’d met, so many years ago. Dick kept his arms tight, feeling Tim’s arms curl around him in return. He knew Tim was crying, his warm tears soaking through the thin material of Dick’s t-shirt, but it didn’t matter. Tim needed someone, and he’d come to Dick. He could stay and cry for as long as he needed to.

When the tears finally ended, Dick gently eased them down on the couch, until the two of them were stretched across its full length. Dick kept his arms around Tim, holding him close, muttering _it’ll be okay_ over and over again, until he felt Tim’s breathing even out. He didn’t let go, not wanting to disturb Tim, and he closed his own eyes, appreciating the warmth of another body. 

“Sleep well, little brother,” Dick whispered. “I’m here.”


End file.
